Their impressive 59-7-0 record is I imagine the best around... never mind winning the 3 regionals they attended, going undefeated in Galileo Division (and thats saying something, given how stacked it was), and losing only one match on Einstein.

They finally received their much overdue world championship.

On top of their robot's excellence, as I recall, they picked up the RCA for Waterloo, the EI for Waterloo, and Ian McKenzie (1114 mentor/Waterloo Chair) was a WFFA winner.

Congratulations 1114, and may you continue to build robots at this level of excellence, as I wouldn't want to beat you because you went easy on us.

Akash Rastogi

04-20-2008, 04:36 PM

Totally agree, I actually said this to some of their members while walking down to the pits. I was being honest as anything when I told them that I really wanted them to win. It was just a kick*** season for them and incredible to watch in Einstein.

Qbranch

04-20-2008, 05:48 PM

Yep, 1114 had one sexy Simbot this year. Their Champion title attests to a great game design by the GDC, the right team won.

Hopefully all the animosity that was buzzing about 1114's head has gone, and the FIRST community can congratulate them wholeheartedly.

I look forward to seeing you all on 1114 at IRI, though most likely you won't be seeing myself and Taylor with/against you on the field there... we try out new driveteams (aka look out world :ahh: ).

Are you guys (1114) losing many people before next season? It would be awesome if you guys could keep enough of your group together to do it again!

On top of their robot's excellence, as I recall, they picked up the RCA for Waterloo, the EI for Waterloo, and Ian McKenzie (1114 mentor/Waterloo Chair) was a WFFA winner.

Actually I think 1305 Near North won the EI at Waterloo and GTAR. The rest is correct.

Also, I believe simbotics will continue to have an excellent program as long as they keep the same mentor, parent, teacher, and community support they worked hard to achieve (which is more than likely). I think we all greatly admire their great program for inspiring kids.

Bcliff358

04-20-2008, 07:18 PM

Just to show how much depth their robot had this year, they did not function properly on Einstein and still pulled out the championship.

XaulZan11

04-20-2008, 07:34 PM

Just to show how much depth their robot had this year, they did not function properly on Einstein and still pulled out the championship.

Yeah, I saw that they missed a few hurdle attempts. Someone on the Gameday chat suggested it was just a case of their drivers getting too excited. Does anyone know what happened? It was so uncharacteristic of them.

1114 was dominate the entire year. They had the best hybrid, the best pickup, and fantastic driving. I guess thier only weakness was that they couldn't place, but when you score around 100 points each match, you don't need those extra points. I'm sure they inspired a ton of people this year with their super simple yet extremely effective design. Congrats!

Kellen Hill

04-20-2008, 08:23 PM

1114 did an amazing job this year and I am very proud to brag that my team gave them one of their 2 elimination losses. It was awesome to see how effective there machine was and how them dominated the competition. I look forward to seeing their bot next year and every year.

1t5h1e1o

04-20-2008, 08:25 PM

Yeah, I saw that they missed a few hurdle attempts. Someone on the Gameday chat suggested it was just a case of their drivers getting too excited. Does anyone know what happened? It was so uncharacteristic of them.

It seemed to me that they wanted to turn down the velocity of their shooter so that they could pick up the ball quicker after a hurdle, obviously with less power, they had to be closer to the overpass and moving fairly quickly, so I would imagine that their drivers had to adjust to these new constraints.

In addition to what has been said already, I would just like to say that 1114's hybrid is amazing. Two ball knock-offs and a complete lap was just beautiful to watch. Way to go and congratulations on the world championship!!

notabmw

04-20-2008, 08:42 PM

Yeah, I saw that they missed a few hurdle attempts. Someone on the Gameday chat suggested it was just a case of their drivers getting too excited. Does anyone know what happened? It was so uncharacteristic of them.

1114 was dominate the entire year. They had the best hybrid, the best pickup, and fantastic driving. I guess thier only weakness was that they couldn't place, but when you score around 100 points each match, you don't need those extra points. I'm sure they inspired a ton of people this year with their super simple yet extremely effective design. Congrats!

To be 100% clear. It was nothing to do with any of the drivers. They drove the wheels off thier Bot. It was a minor glitch in the hardware of the shooter (to be expected after the pounding it took). But it was no big deal for the outstanding Simbotics pit crew, they had it back in tip top shape for the next battle.
Well deserved victory. Great job Team 1114

1t5h1e1o

04-20-2008, 08:54 PM

To be 100% clear. It was nothing to do with any of the drivers. They drove the wheels off thier Bot. It was a minor glitch in the hardware of the shooter (to be expected after the pounding it took). But it was no big deal for the outstanding Simbotics pit crew, they had it back in tip top shape for the next battle.
Well deserved victory. Great job Team 1114

Thank you for clarifying that. I did not mean to sound like I was bashing your drivers in any way, as they are truly outstanding. Congratulations again Simbotics on an awesome robot and an awesome team!!!:D

Lil' Lavery

04-20-2008, 09:17 PM

It was nothing more than 1114's gripper becoming slightly out of line due to a technical issue. Their shooter is fixed to a constant position, so if the claw isn't oriented properly it was shoot improperly, and the trackballs were actually being shot into part of the gripper (thus why they didn't go very far). I was very impressed how quickly 1114 identified and diagnosed this problem, and how fast they managed to fix it. As a whole, that alliance survived more problems and technical issues than any I can remember. Most alliances when they undergo that much trouble eventually lose, but they kept fixing them and lasted until that all important tenth elimination win.

Tom Line

04-20-2008, 09:54 PM

Unfortunatley, it's unlikely I'll get to see 1114 in person and get to ask you guys - so here goes:

Out of curiosity, can somebody on 1114 clue us in on what type of sensors you were using for your autonomous? Probably encoders and gyro - but were were the sensors on each side of your mast just on top of your guarding?

mluckham

04-20-2008, 09:59 PM

Their mentor told me they use quadrature encoders on the output shafts for the drive wheels, and a 300 degree-per-second gyro (Digikey ADXRS300EB-ND). Using these, they keep track of their position of the field, and control the heading of the turn once they reach each position. Their hybrid controllers selected which lane(s) to be in.

Great ideas - accompanied by awesome implementation all around.

Amanda Morrison

04-20-2008, 11:39 PM

There are few teams as professional, proud, and prepared as the Simbotics. Since their inception they have demonstrated excellence in every of their endeavors. They are not afraid to succeed, nor are they unwilling to show others how to do the same. They have driven myself and my teammates to be both a better team and better people through their demonstration of their efforts.

We're happy to have run with you guys this year, during a time when you so rightfully deserved a Championship win. In my mind, you remain one of the extremely few teams in FIRST for everyone to aspire to be.

Chris Fultz

04-20-2008, 11:45 PM

Awesome performance by the entire 1114 crew to make this happen.

This depth of performance shows a great design, great fabrication, great strategy and great implementation. Focus on details absolutely paid off.

Congratulations on a great season and great alliance selections.

Racer26

04-21-2008, 02:19 AM

Out of curiosity, can somebody on 1114 clue us in on what type of sensors you were using for your autonomous? Probably encoders and gyro - but were were the sensors on each side of your mast just on top of your guarding?

No need to drag Karthik or anyone out here, I can answer this as I spent a good amount of time admiring the machine in question. The protected sensors on the top of their shielding on either side of the mast were their IR boards, the very same that were shipped to all teams, one oriented facing in each direction.

AmoryG

04-21-2008, 11:39 AM

Man, I'm really disappointed I didn't get to see you guys on Einstein. My team had to leave for the airport :(. Does anyone know when they'll be posting the matches online? Can't wait to see our own and the ones I missed.

Cory

04-21-2008, 11:47 AM

Are you guys (1114) losing many people before next season? It would be awesome if you guys could keep enough of your group together to do it again!

They're actually only losing two seniors this year.

Joe Ross

04-23-2008, 02:57 PM

Congratulations 1114! You guys had by far the most complete robot this year. Whoever voted you second in the Looking Forward poll should have their ballot revoked ;-)

Here are some statistics on how dominating they are:

1 loss in their last 39 matches.
Scored over 100 points in all but 6 of those last 39 matches.
59-7 overall.
6 banners (ties 67 in 2005)

There's only one more thing to do before this robot can be indisputably named the best ever: Win IRI (71's best robots in 2001 and 2002 did not win IRI)

thefro526

04-23-2008, 06:13 PM

I will say that the Simbotics machine this year ranks among the greatest robots of all time. I would have to say that no one can dispute the fact that they dominated nearly every part of this years game to the fullest extent. And they managed all of this without any major damage unlike most teams. And when they were damaged they still managed to pull out the win. I'd love to see the 1114 machine up close but I guess I'll have to wait til some other time. hmmm IRI.....? ;)

Wayne C.

04-23-2008, 07:28 PM

that is certainly an understatement

I cant remember a robot that dominated a game so much since the Beatty Beast did so in 2001.

The 1114 team should certainly be proud. Congratulations

WC

Josh Fox

04-23-2008, 07:37 PM

This is defintely what I'm sure everyone is thinking of as the season that couldn't possibly have been better...

I can't wait to see you guys top it next year, which I'm sure you will manage somehow. :D

sayso_411

04-23-2008, 08:03 PM

Good job Simbotics (and ThunderChickens and RoboWranglers),

It was fun and exciting to play against you guys in the finals

Good Luck next year,

Sparky 384
:D

Lancer Robotics

04-24-2008, 03:04 PM

Yes, their bot was great, their drivers fantastic. . . But what was best was their approach to their alliance partners. As a rookie team with only 8 members able to travel to Atlanta we were a bit streatched. We were thrilled when we saw in our second match we had 1114 on our alliance. As usual our drive team was talking to partners when 1114 sent its first scout team member. the usual questions were asked and we gave our best honest answers that we could. Nothing strange here.

When the drive teams finally got together to discuss the match three things became clear. 1) They were good. 2) they knew it, not in a jerk way but a confident way and 3) they wanted to HELP all alliance partners contribute to the match. After seeing some powerhouse teams "park" lesser capable alliance partners this was extra special

Congrats to 1114 for the champiohship and thank you for all the alliance partners that you helped to let them contribute to your success

dachickindapit

04-24-2008, 04:04 PM

1114 is the real thing. We've worked with them on many occasions, and I was so happy when they won. On and off the field, they are always a high-quality team who does things right. These guys are a team to be looked to for an example. Congratulations on capping off an incredible year with a well-deserved win! :)

Bob Steele

04-24-2008, 06:41 PM

I want to echo everything that everyone else is saying. A well-deserved win.
We were lucky enough to sit behind 1114 on Galileo throughout the CMP.
This means our parents and mentors and student stood with them AT the door to get in and get those good seats... They were at the door hours before anyone else....

Their team is a class act from top to bottom.

I think that the most interesting thing is that they really didn't know how good they were.... or at least they certainly did not act like it...

Congratulations to 1114 and to the TChickens and RWranglers...

A great alliance and a great championship....

thanks for a great year and for a new mark for everyone to shoot for in quality ...